The 2020-2021 hunting season is now in full swing!  

This valuable Montana Food Bank Network (MFBN) Program, in partnership with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, allows hunters to donate part or all of their legally harvested wild game completely free of cost to the donor at local participating meat processors. 

An unprecedented 50,000 pounds of nutritious wild game, including elk, antelope, deer, moose and bison were donated, processed and distributed through the Hunters Against Hunger Program during the 2019 – 2020 hunting season. 

Since the program’s inception in 2013 a total of 244,000 pounds of wild game has been donated and filling several of our network partners’ freezers around the state to provide an average of 34,000 meals annually. 

The resulting meat is a vital (and otherwise very costly) protein that is added to food boxes and stocked in freezers at local food pantries in 26 different communities. 

If you would like to donate a legally harvested animal to the Hunters Against Hunger Program, you can do so at any of the 30 donation sites around the state. Our meat processor program partner will accept your donation free of charge and you can be assured that your donation will help feed Montanans in need.  

UPDATES for the 2020-2021 Season: Chronic Wasting Disease has been a growing concern for hunters and Montanans. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks are strongly advising you to submit a test sample for any deer, elk, and moose harvested in Montana. For more information please see this website: http://fwp.mt.gov/fishAndWildlife/diseasesAndResearch/diseases/chronicWastingDisease/management.html 

Since many hunters are now printing their hunting tags at home, please be mindful to protect your tags with clear packing tape or a ziploc bag as they are necessary documentation for the donation process and need to be submitted by meat processors to MFBN in order to be reimbursed for their labor.  

If you are not a hunter, there are still other ways to get involved; such as, sharing the program with any hunters in your family or friend circle, educating any out of town visitors on the donation process or making a donation to MFBN’s Hunters Share Fund, which helps provide even more wild game to families in need. 

We’re looking forward to seeing you out there this season under those wild Montana skies!